Built a 338-06 on a commercial FN Mauser action (a Sears). Has a 22" #3 contour Douglas barrel. (Kept the original trigger. Was beautiful trigger. After the bluing it was not so good I expect it will wear in some.) Is mounted in an unbedded Fajen's synthetic stock at the moment. My typical "cheap" rifle build save that I usually use a Timney or Bold trigger.

Got a chance to shoot it today. Started both 210 Nosler partitions and 225 gr Hornady SPs on x1 R-P cases with 52.0 gr RL-15 with WLR primers. Both loads are right at the max with which I am comfortable. Will drop a grain to give me some headroom.

Could not tell what kind of groups I got with the Noslers ... but the rifle shot 3/4" at 100 yards with the 225s. My kinda group from a new rifle!

Question: What kind of terminal performance can I expect from the 225 gr Hornady Interlock SPs on game at 338-06 velocities?

Appreciate your thoughts!

Never used them, but they have a solid reputation out of 338WinMags on Sambar deer locally.
Cheers...
Con

Well Mr Starling...

Whatever wanders around the hills of West Virginia isn't safe with a 338/06 and a 225 grain Hornady SP...

Premium bullets are a plus in any rifle.. but in a 338 bore, they really aren't necessary...

out of a 24 inch barrel, I can run them in the neighborhood of 2700 fps +.....

it makes a fine elk round out this way.....

it will flatten any black bear roaming the hillsides of WVa...

Thanks Seafire2,

I have some experience with the impact performance of 225 Barnes X bullets, 250 gr Nosler CTs, and 225 and 250 Core-Lokts in the .338 WM.

I have no data on the Hornady Interlock performance because my Krieger barreled pre-64 M70 won't shoot them worth a damn. Had a couple of hundred left over as a result of buying them for practice bullets so I tried them in the .338-06 and they work fine.

I am very surprised that I am seeing significant pressure sign at 52.0 gr of RL-15 behind them. Is just barely acceptable and will drop the charge weight to allow some head room. Haven't seen anyone running charges that low with similar bullet weights.

The 225gr Hornadys have worked fine in my .338-06. I've kept the velocity down a bit due to better accuracy. On elk, they've done the job as well as some 210 Nosler Partitions I also use.

quote:

Originally posted by mstarling:
Thanks Seafire2,

I have some experience with the impact performance of 225 Barnes X bullets, 250 gr Nosler CTs, and 225 and 250 Core-Lokts in the .338 WM.

I have no data on the Hornady Interlock performance because my Krieger barreled pre-64 M70 won't shoot them worth a damn. Had a couple of hundred left over as a result of buying them for practice bullets so I tried them in the .338-06 and they work fine.

I am very surprised that I am seeing significant pressure sign at 52.0 gr of RL-15 behind them. Is just barely acceptable and will drop the charge weight to allow some head room. Haven't seen anyone running charges that low with similar bullet weights.

Mike,

you are getting pressure sizes exceedingly low for RL 15 and a 338/06.. I wonder if you have a tighter chamber in yours...

My recommendation, if you can live with it, is try IMR 4064...

One thing I like about IMR 4064, is that it has a nifty little sweet spot at 50 grains in the 338/06...

Check it out.. with that charge, a 200, 210, 215, 225, 230 and 250 grain bullets will ALL give you an MV around 2500 fps... you may have to goose it half a grain or so with the 250 grain bullets... but at least in my 338/06 the point of impact is so close with each of these, it makes it very versatile to me...

A 338/06 is like a 8 x 57, which is like a big 223... powders that work well in a 223, work great in a 8 x 57.. yet they are usually not listed.... experimenting told me that...

Same thing with a 338/06.. I can live with 2500 fps all day long with the 338/06.. but playing with some none traditional listed powders, such are listed in the 35 Whelen.. I had some pretty darn good velocity results with 225 and 200 grain Hornadys...

I can't find the work in my computer now, since I had to have the harddrive wiped clean and reloaded....

but I am referring to powders you won't see listed, like 3031, 4198, RL 7, Rl 10, H 322...

if you try playing with any, take the minimum charge listed for the 35 Whelen and then reduce that by about 10% to start working up....

RL 10, Benchmark, IMR 3031, and H 322 would be my first picks... and all will be less than compressed loads...

with a 225 grain bullet, you really don't need to try and squeeze an extra 100 fps to gain anything in lethality.. the 100 fps less will hanmper you by about 10 to 15 yds Point blank range at most... compensated with one or two clicks on the scopes elevation adjustment...

MSTAR, with 225 gr bullets I find H4350 to be the best powder for my 338-06.Somewhere in the 2700 FPS area with 59-62 gr of powder. I tried up to 52 gr of RL15 and felt I was pushing things. By the way I took my bull elk this year with a 200 gr Accubond and IMR4064 at 2800. Dropped him on the spot at a little over 300 yds and gave full pentration in the heart/lung area. I wouldn't be worried about anything in N.A. witha 225 Hornady. JMHO

Rob1SG,

Thanks for the additional data. Haven't chrono'd anything yet. Still working out the bugs before taking the rifle on a pig hunt late next week in Texas.

The 3/4" group was shot with an 8 pound trigger and a 5.5x scope. Trigger was 2 1/2 pounds before the parts were blued. Pretty terrible, eh? Am swapping in a Timney and intend to get it back to 2 1/2 #. Got 4 # when I dropped it in.

Will try AA4350 which I have as I use it in the .338 Win Mag.

Over the years I have used thousands of Hornady 225gn SP bullets in my 338 Win Mag. Never had a failure. I am sure they would be just as good in the 338-06.